Nation Braces as Washington Nears Compromise

Photo by Pete Souza.Reports are now coming in that the nation’s two major political parties appear poised to work with one another to achieve respective goals. Specifically, while the Democrats hope to extend long-term unemployment benefits, the Republicans seek to prolong George W. Bush–era tax cuts. However, Republicans, of the belief that the money to finance the extension of the unemployment benefits should be siphoned from stimulus funding, have so far blocked such legislation. And Democrats, despite possible dilatory economic effects, wanted to keep the Bush tax rates in place only for the middle class. It now appears that through a series of coordinated sacrifices and allowances, both parties may procure a tweaked version of their intended objectives. The New York Times reports: “Rather than extending the tax rates only on income described by Democrats as middle class—up to $250,000 a year for couples and $200,000 for individuals—the deal would also keep the rates for higher earners, probably for two years. In return, Republicans said they would probably agree to extend jobless aid for the long-term unemployed.”On Sunday, Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) appeared on Meet the Press to enthusiastically endorse the parties’ mutually beneficial machinations. “I think we will extend unemployment compensation. We’re working on that package. I think we're going to get there,” he said. That same day, on Face the Nation, Senate majority whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) said of the compromise, “The notion that we would give tax cuts to those making over $1 million a year is unconscionable,” eventually adding, “We’re moving in that direction." In the end, both parties’ obvious despondence about their ideological sacrifices will surely go ignored by those constituents dependent on unemployment aid and those benefitting from the Bush tax cuts.